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Home Collections Quick Dinner Recipes

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

By:Nagi
Published:9 Nov '15Updated:10 Mar '19
110 Comments
Recipe v

This is kind of like a sun dried tomato pesto pasta…but it’s creamy. 🙂 You will never, ever get a store bought sauce with this much sun dried tomato flavour in my Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta. Or simply by stirring through chopped sun dried tomato!

Oh – and only 400 calories a serving. And you know my portions aren’t teeny tiny!

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta served in bowl

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

I know this is a rather different way to make a sun dried tomato pasta, but bear with me – it works, it’s super simple and there is logic to my madness. And it’s darn tasty!

I’ve made sun dried tomato pasta before by just by stirring chopped up bits of sun dried tomato through a cream based sauce. Still lovely, don’t get me wrong! But I really wanted to try to increase the intensity of sun dried tomato flavour throughout all the sauce, rather than just getting little bursts of flavour.

So I decided to whizz up a sauce in the blender. When you take the lid off the blender, you’re hit with a waft of sun dried tomato fragrance and you just know this pasta is going to be delish!

Plus, by pureeing the sauce, the sun dried tomato thickens it and makes it richer too, which means you don’t actually need to use that much cream and you still get what tastes like rich, creamy sauce. I only use 1/4 cup of cream in this, mixed with milk, and no thickener. But look how thick the sauce is!

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta - it's like a creamy pesto, bursting with sun dried tomato and basil flavours!

Photo sequence showing steps for making Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Sometimes I roast up veggies and toss them through the pasta. But I happened to have some big bunches of English spinach I got on sale for just $0.99 each. So I chopped it up, gave it a good rinse, shook it dry then stirred it right into the pasta.

If you want to add protein into this, chicken is lovely and I certainly wouldn’t say no to bacon either. 🙂

Closeup of Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Some fresh basil is a perfect pairing to add a touch of freshness to an otherwise rather creamy sauce. Whizzing it up in the sauce really brings out the delicate smell of the basil that mingles with the sun dried tomato. Sorry, I know I keep talking about the smell but it’s the best part of cooking this – the moment when you lift the lid off the blender and get the first waft, and you just know you’re in for a real treat!

I don’t know how else to describe this other than to say it’s like a pesto, but it’s creamy and a lot less oily because unlike pesto, this is not whizzed up using oil, the base is milk with a bit of cream.

I like to serve this Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta hot like other creamy pastas but people I’ve given leftovers of this to said that it’s just as nice at room temperature. 🙂

If you’re in the mood for a carb blow out, add Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread!  – Nagi x


More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!

  • Fettucine Alfredo

  • Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta

  • Creamy Tomato Pasta

  • Creamy Garlic Shrimp/Prawn Pasta

  • One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta

  • Ultra Lazy Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake

  • Seafood Gratin Pasta Bake

  • Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!

  • Browse all pasta recipes

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta in a bowl

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Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta - it's like a creamy pesto, bursting with sun dried tomato and basil flavours!

Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
Pasta
4.94 from 32 votes
Servings4
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This is like sun dried tomato pesto, but it's creamy and the flavour of the sun dried tomatoes and basil is a lot more intense! I like to serve it hot, like other creamy pastas I make, but people I've given leftovers to tell me that they like it at room temperature too. This version has spinach tossed through it but it's also lovely with chicken, shrimp/prawns, roasted vegetables and even bacon!

Ingredients

Creamy Sauce

  • 3/4 cup (tightly packed) sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (Note 1) + more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves , lightly packed
  • 1/4 cup yoghurt or sour cream (optional) (Note 2)
  • 1/4 cup cream (Note 3)
  • 1 3/4 cups milk (I use low fat)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional) (Note 4)
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pepper

Pasta

  • 300 g pasta of choice (I like penne/ziti)
  • 1 tbsp oil from sun dried tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 1 small onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow)
  • 4 cups (tightly packed) finely shredded fresh English spinach

To Serve (optional)

  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil , finely shredded
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Place the Creamy Sauce ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust salt to your taste.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds, then add onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until translucent and cooked through.
  • Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente (just cooked through but still firm). SCOOP out 1 mug of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
  • Add the pasta into the skillet, then pour the Creamy Sauce in, all the spinach and about 1/2 cup of the pasta water (Note 5). Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce and to wilt the spinach. Cook, stirring gently, for about 2 minutes until the sauce is warmed through. Adjust salt to taste.
  • Use the remaining pasta water to get the sauce to the consistency you want.
  • Remove from the stove and serve immediately, with more parmesan cheese and basil if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. You can use sun dried tomatoes that come in oil, or even the ones that do not come in oil. Shake off excess oil if you are using the sun dried tomatoes that come in oil.
2. The yoghurt/sour cream cuts through the richness a bit and is also a thickener. Without it, I find that the sauce is a wee bit too creamy. But this is optional. If you don't have yoghurt or sour cream on hand, a squeeze of lemon juice would suffice but to keep the balance of creaminess in the sauce, I would add more cream.
3. If you want to indulge, feel free to increase the amount of cream in this and decrease the amount of milk by the same amount.
4. The tomato paste is mainly for colour. It is a bit of a thickener as well, but it's not critical. So feel free to omit it if you want.
5. The starchy water that the pasta was cooked in reacts with the oil in the Creamy Sauce when cooked over heat to magically transform into a glossy, silky sauce that clings to the pasta. This magic process is called emulsification and it's the secret to how Italians make simple pastas taste so gourmet!
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming this serves 4.
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 289gCalories: 400cal (20%)Carbohydrates: 57.1g (19%)Protein: 17.9g (36%)Fat: 11.9g (18%)Saturated Fat: 3.5g (22%)Cholesterol: 69mg (23%)Sodium: 526mg (23%)Potassium: 907mg (26%)Fiber: 2.5g (10%)Sugar: 8.3g (9%)Vitamin A: 3650IU (73%)Vitamin C: 44.6mg (54%)Calcium: 290mg (29%)Iron: 4.1mg (23%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Photo sequence showing steps for making Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Penne

 

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110 Comments

  1. sM says

    April 2, 2025 at 5:20 pm

    Hi – I would love to try this. What can I replace the parmesan with? Thinking of making it for a vegetarian friend.

    Reply
  2. Cathy Stubel says

    December 29, 2024 at 12:39 am

    First time I ever came across one of your recipes with out a video! I’m going to try this , looks delicious

    Reply
  3. Sabrina says

    June 20, 2024 at 3:16 am

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious, and so versatile! I think it’s perfect to utilize what you have in the fridge and make your own. Thanks again Nagi 🙂

    Reply
  4. sandra maher says

    April 29, 2024 at 5:54 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a yummy dish, so easy to make. I didn’t have any yoghurt /sour cream so used the option of lemon and worked perfectly. Added chicken, we loved it! Thanks once again Nagi for another success story. X

    Reply
  5. Suzanne Zylmans says

    March 3, 2024 at 9:12 pm

    5 stars
    Another delicious recipe Nagi. Thank you. 😊

    Reply
  6. Neety says

    January 2, 2024 at 12:40 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! I added some BBQ chicken that I needed to use up. Can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow!

    Reply
  7. Huw Evans says

    September 3, 2023 at 10:34 pm

    If you can’t be bothered to show your ingredients in metric units then I can’t be bothered to convert cups into sensible measurements.

    Reply
    • Karin says

      September 11, 2023 at 3:23 pm

      Invest in a set of measuring cups and spoons. Makes life a lot easier and less stressful 😊

      Reply
  8. Kathy says

    April 12, 2023 at 8:38 pm

    5 stars
    My kids loved this, said “it tastes like restaurant food!”! I used 10oz frozen spinach because that’s all I had and it was great!

    Reply
  9. Jacqui says

    April 11, 2023 at 8:38 pm

    5 stars
    I never usually comment after finding recipes online, but this was soooo delicious!! I added some shredded BBQ chook. Will definitely be making this again! Thank you!

    Reply
  10. imsen says

    February 14, 2022 at 11:50 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! It’s a fairly easy and quick recipe that never fails.
    Made this last night and it is going to be a regular. My hubby (who doesn’t like pasta) devoured it!

    Reply
  11. Natalia says

    November 17, 2021 at 7:49 am

    This pasta is super delicious and easy to prefer. My son has eaten double portion 😂.

    Reply
  12. Jagoda says

    August 23, 2021 at 1:37 am

    Does recipe include dried or cooked pasta?

    Reply
  13. candice says

    August 6, 2021 at 6:56 am

    I just tried this dish and was simply delightful! This afternoon I went to warm up some pasta and the sauce seemed dried out and little clumps. I did use dry sun dried tomatoes as that was all I had and add evoo oil 2tbsp.
    should I have added more oil to balance all the liquid dairy components?

    Reply
  14. Helen Callaghan says

    July 21, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    Can the pasta sauce be made in bulk & frozen?

    Reply
  15. Dinah says

    April 27, 2021 at 10:37 am

    Hi Nagi, Would it be possible to use this creamy sundried tomato sauce for a baked pasta?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 28, 2021 at 1:00 pm

      Yes but you may need a little more of it if you’re baking the pasta – you don’t want it to dry out! N x

      Reply
  16. Michelle says

    April 4, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    4 stars
    My family really liked this dish – even my über picky teenager. No modifications; added some chicken. I did a recipe and a half and had to transfer to a Dutch over. Might try adding mushrooms next time.

    Reply
  17. Emma says

    February 15, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    5 stars
    LOVE this recipe, so tasty. I was just about to make another when searching for recipes and recognized your website! Also, love so many of the recipes on your website!!

    Reply
  18. Courtney says

    January 5, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    5 stars
    Very delicious! Added a tbsp of red pepper flakes for a little spice. Going to serve with chicken tomorrow for left overs! Yum.

    Reply
  19. Rachel says

    November 10, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    4 stars
    Really good, was able to prep it before hand and just threw it all together in the skillet and dinner
    Ready in 5 min!

    Reply
  20. Emma Jarvis says

    October 28, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    Yummmmmm!!! 👏 I was going to make another recipe but lost the website so googled again and found yours! So glad I did, it was sooooo good!! I love your website, so many great recipes

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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